On August 1 and 2, 2026, the China Freediving All-Round Open ran its live broadcast with underwater cameras at every stage of the competition. Every one of those underwater positions was a smartphone in a DIVEVOLK housing, kept online by SeaLink.
The entire underwater rig came down to three pieces: a phone, a housing and a SeaLink surface transmitter. No dedicated underwater broadcast cameras, no underwater cabling, no separate underwater broadcast crew.
Three Pieces of Gear Replace a Cabled Underwater Broadcast System
Broadcasting a competition from underwater has traditionally meant specialist equipment: purpose-built underwater cameras, waterproof cabling, a shore-side control room and the technical crew to run it all. The gear is heavy, rigging and testing take time, every venue change means starting over, and the cost sits beyond the budget of most events.
This competition demanded exactly that kind of venue change. Racing opened on the morning of August 1 in the Xiangshan mine lake, moved to the Xuyi Olympic Sports Center natatorium that afternoon, and finished in the pool on August 2. The camera positions had to move with the schedule. A phone in a housing is the underwater camera; the SeaLink surface unit floats on the competition water and keeps that phone online by cable at depths of up to 30 meters. A camera operator enters the water with the rig, and the live position is set.
For an event organizer, what changes is the barrier to entry: the rig is hand-carried, the operation is as familiar as a phone, the cost is a fraction of a professional underwater broadcast system, and the live picture can be verified on the spot.
Freediving Happens Where Only an Underwater Camera Can See
In most sports the underwater camera is a supplementary angle; in competitive freediving, the performance that decides the result takes place underwater. Constant weight without fins is a vertical descent along a line. Static apnea shows a motionless athlete face-down at the surface. Dynamic apnea is a horizontal swim along the pool floor. Without live underwater imaging, the audience sees a rope, a lane line and a timing clock.
A live underwater feed lets the audience follow the competition itself: the pace of the descent, the athlete's form, the safety divers holding position in the water column, and the surface protocol on return. Commentators explain the attempt while it is happening, and officials, coaches and spectators watch the same picture at the same time.
The rig is not limited to national-level competition. Club meets, regional selection rounds, youth events and certification-level competitions can stand up an underwater live position with the same three pieces of gear. The same setup has already covered a Bay Area freediving series and a range of live underwater television broadcasts. In a quarry or a deep pool, lighting matters as much as connectivity, which is where a dive light becomes part of the camera position rather than an accessory.
With TVU, the On-Site Gallery Takes a Single Feed
The event paired SeaLink with TVU's cloud production tools: the underwater and surface phones joined the cloud switcher, the multi-camera cut happened in the cloud, and a single finished feed was handed to the on-site gallery for broadcast. SeaLink kept the underwater phones connected; TVU handled transport and switching; the venue added no specialist equipment for its underwater positions.
Where SeaLink Goes Next
DIVEVOLK's roadmap for SeaLink runs in three directions: more simultaneous underwater positions per event, tighter integration with the contribution tools broadcast partners already use, and workflows that let a diver who is already in the water double as a camera position. Beyond competition, the same rig already serves ocean conservation livestreams, scientific communication, dive training and public education.
Build Your Own Underwater Broadcast Position
If you are planning underwater coverage for a competition, a training session or a conservation project, the starting point is a phone you already own, a SeaTouch 4 Max Plus housing and SeaLink for the connection to the surface. Our technical support team can help match a phone, housing and accessories to the event you are covering, and the contact team can advise on multi-camera setups.
Event Information
The 2026 China Freediving All-Round Open was held at Xiangshan National Mine Park in Xuyi County, Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, organized by the Water Sports Administrative Center of the General Administration of Sport of China. More than 60 athletes competed in constant weight without fins, static apnea and dynamic apnea, in the third consecutive year the national competition has been staged in Xuyi. The event drew coverage from Xinhua News Agency, China Central Television and China News Service.
- China News Service reported the competition dates, venue and third consecutive Xuyi edition ahead of the event, including the mine lake's Class I water rating, 15-meter visibility and 51-meter maximum depth.
- China News Service also covered the opening day, including the organizer, athlete count and the three competition disciplines.
- TVU Networks documents the mobile contribution tools used to bring the phone feeds into the cloud production.
